Chevrolet Colorado

Comments

Michelin LTX M/S. The best truck and SUV tire out there. No contest. The M/S version is quiet on pavement, yet capable off road as well. A set of these tires can last up to 80k miles with very even tread wear. I got 75K miles out of a set and they still had tread left.

I know the feeling, I also have my "it's in your head letter from Chevy" on my 2005, 4 cyl, 5 speed Colorado. The problem is also with the automatics, you just do not feel it as much since the converter is absorbing most of the jerking / hesitation. I had a Chevy dealer admit that Chevy shouldn't be building manual transmissions to go with these "lean burn engines".

Following is more insult to our pain: I just had my Colorado to an independent diagnostic shop in attempt to fix the hesitation problem. He was able to see that the computer is running the engine too lean during normal acceleration in the 1,500 to 3,000 rpm range. Once he took the rpm's up over 3,500, then the computer gave the engine proper gas. On my 2800 engine, I am getting so much misfiring that I have to change the oil every 3,000 miles (that's highway miles because I have 27 miles one way to work).

Back to the insult, the diagnostic shop knows the cause: Chevy has the computer programmed to run the engine too lean during normal acceleration. How does one get Chevy to correct the issue when they won't admit the problem ?

i know this is going to sound crazy but finaly my chevy dealer got it fixed. well it seems to be. i needed a new filler hose and cap. for some reason mine was not working at all and i was messin up my computer and also the check idiot light came on one to many times . hey it seems to be working great now. fingers crossed

i know this is going to sound crazy but finaly my chevy dealer got it fixed. well it seems to be. i needed a new filler hose and cap. for some reason mine was not working at all and i was messin up my computer and also the check idiot light came on one to many times . hey it seems to be working great now. fingers crossed

I am not a big fan of late model trade-ins. You have to ask yourself, why did someone trade-in an almost brand new vehicle? The answer is probably there is something wrong with it. With all the rebates and low financing for 06 and 07 models, I think I would buy brand new. Just my opinion.

Best thing to do is go to the main page of Inside Line, then click the Help link at the very bottom of the page. Then use the "Contact Us" tab to prepare a message to Editorial - you probably want to use the category "Road Tests".

Let me tell you about my experience with Chevy Colorado. I purchased my first one 12/04. It was a brand new 05 Z71 4x4 crew cab. In 18 months it had no heat (crimp came loose in the dash), loose hood and plate holder, bad shock, leaky power stearing, failed battery, shorting out dash lights, something about the air bag coil needed replaced in the stearing column, leaky rear window, broken windshield (can't blame that on GM), assorted rattes and squeaks,AC hose melted to the hood. Then the transmission began making grinding metal sounds. That was the last straw!!! I traded that POS in for a new 06 Colorado crew cab 4x4.Took it in for first oil change and fix the dome light. That was minor compared to the previous truck. Now 2 days later there is a puddle of red in the driveway!!! Service says it needs a specialty trany part and will be in the shop for 4 days?How is it possible to get 2 in a row?My previous experience with Chevy is wonderful. 15+ years in a Celebrity, 6 years in a Blazer until the kid totalled it, & 2 years in my trouble free Tahoe.Anyone know of a witch doctor that can get rid of this Colorado jinx?

i had the hesitation with mine ane it is great now. my 2004 chevy colorado Z71 ext 2wd. all it was is the filler hose and gas cap. i never would have even thunk that. now i plan to keep mone and i might even look into some rear jump seats for it. DAN

I used the cars.com and the edmunds.com to determine rebates. Also look at the factory-to-dealer incentives because although they will deny it, dealers will let go of some or all of $$$. Try going through the Internet sales as opposed to walking in the door for a more civilized experience. HOWEVER - I would strongly advise you to see if you are willing to live with the shortcomings of the Colorado/Canyon/Izuzu i350 series. I personally would not buy another one. I have the one above base, 4 cyl automatic ex-cab 2wd. Unless you pay $500 for the power package there is no way to unlock the passenger door from the outside! A BIG PITA, along with other quirks makes this a questionable purchase IMHO. If you still insist on buying one get a BIG discount. That's how I console myself: Window sticker: $20,620 ; I paid, including rebates: $15,200 + T&L. You can shop online and view inventory and window sticker. Don't rule out the GMC flavor - it is identical to the Chevy except for badging. At the time I bought, the rebate on GMC Canyon was $500 more than on Colorado here in Calif. I have heard the Izuzu version suffers from poor resale even though mechanical and trim is identical in all respects. I loved my 1995 S10 3.4l 4X4 and blind loyalty led me to GM. Not any more.

Anyone w/remote locks can ignore this. For those of us without remote locks, there is no way to unlock the passenger door from the outside. GM told me that having an aftermarket vendor add remote locks [performed by auto alarm dealers] would void the warranty on electronic/electrical [computer etc.] due to the fact they must tap into the electrical system. Has anyone added a door handle w/lock cyliner to the passenger side? If so please share the part numbers for doing this. Sad that GM hasn't issued a kit but they were probably advised against doing so by their PR people.

Hi, I have not done this yet but am seriously thinking of getting a door lock for the drivers side, (about $75) and turning it over in the passenger door and modifying the lever mechanism to get it to work. It looks like it should fit. Has anyone tried this. I use my truck for work and keep tools behind the passenger seat. This constantly having to climb over and unlock the door is a real PITA. If these trucks are sold in "drive on the left countries" they must have opposite handed locks available.The other thing I would like to know if anyone has done is to change the parking brake to a hand operated one. My old 90 Isuzu had one mounted under the dash and I am sure this could be done here too. Does the Isuzu 350 have a foot or hand brake? Maybe that could be used if it's a hand one.The problem of different sized cupholders on the gearshift cowl has been solved by cutting a "pop can cooler" in half and putting it on the bottom of a standard Tim Mug (tall version). Now the wife and I can both have the same size coffee when we travel together.

i am building custom sub enclosures for the crew cab colorado and canyon. they are built out of mdf and fiberglass and hold 2 8 inch subs. they have a chevy bowtie or gmc logo on the front inlaid under the carpet. the boxes fit under the back seat and take up no leg room.they sound awesome. i sell these on ebay . just search colorado sub box . mine are the only ones with a logo. they are carpeted to match your interior and my feedback score is 100 percent perfect. if you own one of these vehicles you know how limited space is. i am a mecp certified car audio installer and custom fabricator. and have been in the car audio industry for 15 years as an installer and sound quality judge.you may email me for pics tech12volt@yahoo.com or search my seller id christyt3838 on ebay. thanks and if you need any help with audio , security, or nave and dvd please hit me up /">

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That probably won't happen until the'08 model year when from what I have read, GM has scheduled a refresh of the trucks. Hopefully it will be similar to what they did to the S-10 in '98 when they redid the grill and the interior. Although they kept all the same body panels, the interior become much more ergonomic and the front end became much more modern looking that still looks good today. I actually prefer the 98-04 S-10 interior to the Colorado interior.

Anyway, I expect these changes, but I don't expect much more from the powertrain. GM hasn't updated the base V6 to go into the new Silverado, which in my opinion is a very capable powertrain, but proably too underpowered for the Colorado to be competitive in terms of HP. It has plenty of torque, but not enough HP. That base V6 is basically the same since it was introduced back in the 80's. Oh it's been worked over to produce almost 200 HP, but since that 200 HP number hasn't changed since the mid 90's I am thinking that it is about maxed out on the power end unless it is force fed or bored out. I don't expect a V6 to make it to the Colorado, although a V6 version of the 5.3 V8 would probably make good HP and Torque numbers.

So in short, I don't expect the Colorado to "improve" much until it is completely redesigned which may not happen until the next decade. Although I will have to say that I am interested to see how much of an improvement the 3.7 I5 is compared to the 3.5. And IMHO I don't think that the Colorado is that horrid of a vehicle as everyone on this forum seems to think. It could use some vast improvements, but I don't think they are coming, but what is there is on par for what many drivers need.

Replace your Generals with a 31X10.50r 15. BFG All-Terrain is a good choice. The Goodyear one mentioned as well is also a good choice. You can do some research at tirerack.com by typing in the size. The 265/75 r15 is basically the same size as a 31x10.50 r15 so you wouldn't have to worry about speedo changes and such. The 31 is a flotation tire size and not a "P" series size. Meaning the 31 is geared more for offroad, but there are several tires out there that are also more "road" worthy. In the 265/75 15 there is not as much selection.

Question for hosts ... Does Indside Line have any plans to test a 3.7 I5 equipped Colorado to see if it makes the truck more competitive to a Tacoma or Frontier? It has a lot of ground to cover in the interior department, but also having a little more grunt under the hood would definately help.

I am currently looking to replace my '01 S-10 4.3 Ext Cab - which I must say has been an excellent vehicle (it is my second, 2nd Gen S-10 and both were excellent vehicles). Anyway, I looked forward to the Colorado with great anticipation and now that they have come out am a little curious as to how they are doing. The car mags have ragged on them for low quality interior and under powered motors and such and such... They also did that with the S-10, so I am not too concerned with their ratings. I am more concerned with "real world driving".

Currently I drive about 40K miles a year so gas mileage is a big concern, but also power. I love the torque rich power my 4.3 has, but wish it had more horsepower, although it is more than adequate for the truck - I just always want more. The I-5 concerns me however as it totes having 220 HP, but only 225 FT lbs of Torque. Why is concerns my is the 4.3 has over 150 Ft lbs of torque so the lesser torque means less punch off the line and pulling hills. Plus the Colorado has to wiegh more so it is going to feel slower off the line and when passing on the Hwy. This is probably my biggest concern. I need to know how the engine performs in the real world.

As far as interior fit and finish - if it is better than the S-10 than I will be satisfied. I like the way the S-10 is laid out and the build quality while hated by the car mags at the time I feel it is quite functional and built just fine.

The interior space is also a little concerning. The S-10 has LARGE door windows and a LARGE rear window compared to the other models of it's time. This I really like. I love a lot of window space. While I have never actually been able to spend a whole lot of time in the Colorado, when I look at them, it seems as if the glass space is smaller than that of the S-10. If it is smaller I guess I could live with this.

Here is what I would say to your brake problem ... Run away from the Dealer. It has been my experience that they way overcharge for things. I wouldn't go to them unless it was for warranty work. I would find a good honest independent shop to look at the vehicle and give you a second opinion and price. I would also try to stay away from chain dealers like Brake's Plus and Midas (although there are several of those types of shops that are reputable and will give you an honest job with quality work. The problem I find with them is they hire people off the street with little or no experience and you tend to not get the quality you might be looking for.)

Anyway, find a good mechanic that has been in business for awhile by asking friends and people at work and then stick with that shop if they give you good service. Also keep all reciepts and work done so that your warranty stays valid. And if it is warranty by all means make sure you take it to the dealer and work with them first. No sense in paying for something that should be covered. If it is not warranty work, take it to your trusty mechanic as it is also no sense in paying too much.

And then as a last thought - as far as basic maintenance like oil changes and tire rotations, find a Wal-mart to do that. It is simple work and they don't charge a whole lot to do so. You can get out of there for less than 50 bucks (even less the next time around if you get there lifetime tire and wheel balance) for both the oil change and the tire rotation and balance. The next time you go in you will only have to pay for the oil change.

And now one more last thought and I promise I am done - For other basic maintenance items you might be able to do a lot of them your self like the fuel filter. You might even be able to do the brakes on your own. This alone will save you tons of money in the long run. If you consider yourself fairly competent and hands on type of person, for the cost of taking your truck in one time to the brake shop, you can get all the tools you need to change the pads, pull off the rotors and have them turned, repack the bearings, change the fuel filter, spark plugs, air filter, and the like. There again, for a one time charge you have all you need and will only be out the cost of pads and turning the rotors (unless you can find a store like Autozone who will replace worn out pads when you buy their lifetime warranty pads. Why they warrant and will replace a worn out wear and tear item at no cost is beyond me, but they do it, so I will continue to pay only once for the pads.) This again is by far cheaper than taking it to a shop to do all the work.

But you would have to be able to have the time to do all the work your self and sometimes time is money and it is just as easy to pay the money and let someone else get dirty... Anyway I am off my soap box now.

Bottom line - don't overpay the Dealer for something a much more competent independent shop can do for less and with better quality. And don't pay someone else to do something that you know you can do.

Ummm.... are you thinking Ford Exploder (cough.... I mean Explorer???) Ford was blamed for that several years ago and they did go ahead and issue recalls for the tires (whether it was the actual tire or the fact that Ford said it was okay to run them at 23lbs of pressure and the tires just plain overheated because the tire was actually under-inflated and couldn't dissipate the heat I didn't get into all that.... But I don't think Chevy put "defective" tires on the Colorado - at least not that I have heard. You probably just got a bum tire. It happens. Not that Generals are the best tire brand to have, so I would say that they are more prone to a blow out as say a Michelin or BFG as the manufacturing process is not a tightly watched as a Michilen is and it is more likely that a bum tire makes it all the way through production, but it happens. It even happens with say a Michilen and your other more "premium" brands.

Here is what I would do in your position - I would say good riddance and use the excuse to trash the other 3 General's and go get a set of BFG All Terrains in a 31X10.50. The Generals will be the first thing to go when I replace my S-10 with a Colorado. I won't even wait for them to wear out. I might actually drive from the dealership to the tire store... anyway that's just my opinion.

100K - wow if they ever invent a motor oil that will go that long..... I have never been comfortable going more than 3K on oil changes. I only have an '01 S-10 (which will be replaced by a Colorado in the near future), and after about 2500 miles I head for the lube shop. I also travel about 4000 miles a month so that means I am there about every 3 weeks or so. My advice is to go between 3-5K miles with regular oil depending on your driving habits and with Mobile One i would feel comfortable going 7K miles....

Here is my whole thought on the matter - I know that Isuzu and Gm were to be joint developing this truck and if it is indeed true that Isuzu flubbed up and didn't create an engine bay big enough to hold the I6 (which would have been awsome in the Colorado), than I am curious to see what might happen in the future. My whole feeling on the Colorado is that while it is a "good" truck, it doesn't compare to the new Tacoma and the new Frontier. It is outclassed by them the same way that the S-10 used to out class them. And this in only the first couple years of production. I am sure that GM knew that Toyota was readying and new Taco and that Nissan was going to introduce a brand new Frontier, so why not introduce a truck that has the horsepower rating and tow ratings to be able to compete. I remember reading that when the general public found out that the Colorado would actually have less towing capability than the S-10, GM made a statement something along the lines of "we dont expect Colorado owners to do much towing, but rather if they are going to tow alot, they will step up to the Silverado." Hogwash. I use my S-10 to tow A LOT! Mind you it's not a 5th wheel or even a camper, but I tow everything from U-hauls to trash trailers, to flat beds and the like. Most average about 2 ton by the time I am done loading them up. And I am able to do just fine. I wonder then in retrospect if indeed this Colorado was designed mostly by Isuzu for a market other than the American public. Let's face it - Americans love horsepower and they love big ratings. (We are also starting to care about gas mileage, but that still comes in third I think). Therefore when GM speced this truck out and it only had a 4000lb tow rating they had to come up with a plausible excuse as to why and this was the best they could come up with. As for me I do not want a Silverado as my needs do not require one and I do not like the bulk it presents. (eventually I will get one when my family grows, or my driveway does) I like the utility the S-10 provides while still keeping the size down. Anyway, on the whole the Colorado does not present itself as being a vehicle desinged by GM in this day of GM vehicles. It doesn't have the same quality of GM's other cars. Of the vehicles GM has redesigned in the last 2 years, I would say that the Colorado is the cheapest feeling I have seen. (aside from the Aveo - but then that was the market is was designed for and it only cost 13K loaded while a Colorado is almost 30K loaded) Look at the quality of the Malibu, or Impala, the new Corvette. The Pontiac G6, the new Buicks. Across the board we have seen an increase in quality from GM vehicles, except the Colorado. It is under powered when compared to the other trucks in it's class, it doesn't have the same quality interior, the exterior is not really a fresh design (it looks like a mini Silverado. This is not a bad thing as I like how it looks, but it just shows no real fresh thinking in how it looks) and the capabilites of it are limited by how it was designed. By the time GM is done revamping it's truck line at the end of the year, the Colorado will look outdated. Even the Trailblazer recieved an update, abeit a minor one to it's front face. I feel that GM would do well to take the truck back almost to square one and try again. Not completely back because it does possess several redeeming qualities. While I like the Colorado, I think it could have been done better.

Here is what I would have done with it... I like it's exterior design, but knowing what look GM is headed for in the future in terms of how their trucks look, I would have designed it more along those lines and would have kept the turn signals under the headlamps. It still looks awkward at night. I would have either used the I6 motor from the Trailblazer, or knowing the success if the 4.3 and how durable it is and knowing that it came from the 5.7, why not take the 5.3 and creating a V6 derived from that? The old 5.7 produced in the nieghborhood of 250 horses with out modification, the 4.3 develops 190-200 depending on how it's configured. It also developed an astounding 250 ft lbs of torque. GM now gets over 300 out the 5.3 now, so instead of the meager 200 out of the 4.3, I would suspect that a 4.0 V6 derived from the 5.3 could make comparable numbers to Toyota's 245 hp in their 4.0 V6. Your torque ratings would also be in the high 200's I would suspect. I would make that an optional enginge and also offer a variant of the Ecoteck 2.2 liter that is used in the Cobalt and Ion. Yes the 2.2 (not the Ecotec) in the old S-10 was the same basic motor in the Cavalier and it sucked, but if you were modify the 2.4 Ecotech that is the midlevel engine in the Colbalt, you might get HP and torque numbers that are at least equal to if not better than the 2.8 that they are using now. You might also get better gas mileage out of them. The Ecotech from what I understand is an excellant motor and would probably do just fine as a base motor for a Colorado. The V6 motor derived from the 5.3 could be your upgrade and then if you so choose, the 5.3 (or even the 4.8 as it now produces 285 HP) could be a top end motor to be used on the crew cabs or even a hopped up SS version of the Colorado. Heck Chevy has SS everything except the Colorado and Aveo. Can you imagine a 300 horse V8 powered Colorado?? It would blow the doors of the Dodge not to mention the Taco and Fronty. Dodge has a V8 but it is no more powerful than Toyota's V6. Chevy did do it right when they offered the Colorado in all three body styles at 3 different suspension levels. They also did it right when they offered 2 or 4wd on everything but the sport suspension, but why not go a step further and offer an AWD sport package? I'm not sure I would offer a full size bed with the Crew Cab like Toyota does, but I would increase the interior room more than they did. It still doesn't feel any bigger inside than my current S-10 does. I would offer something more than outdated 15 in. wheels. At least offer 16 on the 4wd and high stance suspensions. The 17 and 18's they offer for the sport are a good choice. I don't think you need to go any bigger. 20's are just for show and on a midsize truck they don't leave enough room to get sufficient rubber around the wheel to give any kind of traction or suspision assistance. The Colorado is a good truck; I will probably end up owning one when I run my S-10 into the ground, but I feel that it could have been muck better designed. I hear rumors that the Colorado is slated for redesign/update around 2008. Maybe that is when they are going to address some of these issues... anyway these are my thoughts and this post is now way to long so I doubt anyone has even read all the way through this ....

that is good to hear about the Colorado (Canyon) I have been lookign and this is the top on my list for a replacement to my S-10 because I am a Chevy fan, but it seems that all I see on this forum is complaints and problems, so it is good to see some positves. I guess it is because when we humans have something go wrong we have to let the whole world know about it and when something is done right or we aren't having problems, we don't say enough...

that is good to hear about the Colorado (Canyon) I have been lookign and this is the top on my list for a replacement to my S-10 because I am a Chevy fan, but it seems that all I see on this forum is complaints and problems, so it is good to see some positves. I guess it is because when we humans have something go wrong we have to let the whole world know about it and when something is done right or we aren't having problems, we don't say enough...

hear hear.... All cars are going to have their problems whether Domestic or Foriegn. The drawback to these forums is all you hear about are the problems. Just problem after problem. Very rarely do you hear the good things.

Anyway I will buy what ever best suits my needs whether it be American which I prefer, or Foreign. I have never owned a Honda or Toyota or Kia or Hyndai or Nissan, and have mostly owned GM's with a Ford and a Chrysler thrown in and in my experience every single vehicle exhibited to some degree some type of problem. But has that stopped me from buying American cars? No - and one brand new one and one 5 years old still sit in my driveway.

Anyway, gripe as you will about American cars - or in this case the Colorado's being crap, but I highly doubt that is really the case. I would guess that the vehicle is about as reliable as any other vehicle out there...